Growth Need Strength (Moderating Variables)
The concept of “growth needs strength” revolves around individuals’ inherent desires to develop, learn, and achieve progress in their professional roles. It’s crucial to recognize that not everyone possesses a high growth need strength, as some individuals find contentment in their current positions and derive happiness from where they are. A heightened growth need acts as an intrinsic motivator, influencing employees with a “high” growth need strength to undergo critical psychological experiences such as a sense of meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results in their work. Employees with a high growth need strength are likely to achieve positive outcomes when the core characteristics of their job align with their roles, resulting in a positive psychological experience. This alignment allows them to feel a sense of purpose, take ownership of their tasks, and understand the effectiveness of their efforts. On the contrary, individuals lacking high growth need strength and may not be significantly influenced by the core characteristics of their jobs. Hackman and Oldham assert that the model’s outcomes, including intrinsic motivation, work performance, job satisfaction, job involvement, and low absenteeism and turnover, are contingent on the presence of growth need strength as a moderator.
Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) by Hackman and Oldham
Developed by J. Richard Hackman and Greg R. Oldham, the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) serves as a comprehensive tool designed to evaluate the nature of tasks performed within a job, specifically aligned with their job characteristics model. This model posits that the inherent qualities of job tasks contribute significantly to key outcomes such as job performance and job satisfaction. The JDS goes beyond objective job properties, prioritizing the assessment of perceived job characteristics over their factual counterparts. The survey encompasses several critical job descriptive constructs, including skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback from the work itself, feedback from agents, and the opportunity to deal with others. Its primary goal is to discern whether and how jobs might be redesigned to optimize employee motivation and job satisfaction. By emphasizing perceived job characteristics and their impact on employee experiences, the JDS remains a valuable tool for organizations aiming to enhance workplace dynamics and foster a more fulfilling and motivating work environment.
Geeky Takeaways:
- The JDS developed by J. Richard Hackman and Greg R. Oldham will evaluate job tasks and their characteristics.
- It aims to diagnose existing jobs and discern how they could be redesigned to optimize employee motivation and satisfaction.
- This model, which the JDS is based on, posits that inherent job qualities impact key outcomes like performance and satisfaction.
- By emphasizing perceived characteristics, the JDS remains valuable for optimizing workplace dynamics and fostering a fulfilling, motivating environment.
Table of Content
- Job Characteristics (Core Factors)
- Experienced Psychological States (Intervening Variables)
- Growth Need Strength (Moderating Variables)
- Motivation Potential Score (MPS)